Average tax refund down 8.4 percent so far in 2019, according to IRS data

The 16 million Americans who have already filed their federal tax returns are seeing, on average, an 8.4 percent drop in their refund amount so far this year, according to new data from the IRS.

So far in 2019, the average refund clocks in at $1,865, a decrease from the $2,035 average refund at this point in last year's tax season.

The agency said it has processed 24.3 percent fewer refunds this year. As of Feb. 1, 2019, the IRS had paid out $8.713 billion to 4,672,000 people. By Feb. 2, 2018, though, it had paid out $12.56 billion in refunds to 6,171,000 taxpayers.

Data released this week also showed an overall 12.4 percent decrease in the number of tax returns received and a 25.8 percent decrease in the number of returns processed compared to 2018.